Kolkata Tribunal Restores Congress Candidate's Voter Status Ahead of West Bengal Elections
Restoration of Voter Status
The Appellate Tribunal established in Kolkata to address appeals from individuals removed from West Bengal's voter lists has reinstated the name of Motab Shaikh, the Congress candidate for Farakka, as reported by a local news outlet.
This marks the tribunal's inaugural decision.
In his ruling, TS Sivagnanam, a retired chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, highlighted that the Election Commission had mentioned 'technical reasons' for failing to explain the circumstances surrounding Shaikh's name removal during the hearing.
This development occurs just days before the assembly elections in West Bengal, scheduled for April 23 and April 29, with results to be announced on May 4.
West Bengal is among 12 states and Union Territories that underwent a special intensive revision of their electoral rolls.
On February 28, the Election Commission released the final electoral roll for West Bengal, revealing that over 61 lakh voters had been excluded.
Despite this, the adjudication process continues, with approximately 60 lakh cases still pending due to objections regarding their exclusions from the draft rolls published in December.
On February 20, the Supreme Court mandated the appointment of judicial officers at the district judge level to assist in completing the revision process in the state.
On March 10, the Supreme Court ordered the establishment of an Appellate Tribunal composed of former High Court chief justices and judges to handle appeals related to voter list exclusions in West Bengal.
Individuals whose requests for inclusion in the electoral rolls have been denied by a judicial officer can appeal to this tribunal.
As the Assembly elections approach, the Election Commission has yet to physically establish the 19 tribunals it had announced.
Shaikh's attorney, Firdaus Shamim, remarked that the ruling in Shaikh's case illustrates how legitimate voters have had their names removed from the electoral rolls.
Tribunal's Findings
What the tribunal said
Sivagnanam instructed the Election Commission to officially recognize Shaikh as a valid voter in Murshidabad by 8 PM on Sunday through an additional list.
He noted that the passport provided by Shaikh served as adequate proof, emphasizing that there were no discrepancies regarding his father's name in any records.
According to the retired judge, 'The appellant also presented his family tree, demonstrating that all family members, including his six siblings and their spouses and children, are included in the voters' list without any discrepancies.'
He further stated that he was unable to review the reasons provided by the adjudicating judicial officer for excluding Shaikh's name.
This ruling followed the Supreme Court's directive on April 2, which instructed Shaikh to appeal to the tribunal regarding the removal of his name from the voter rolls.
The Congress candidate had approached the court seeking the restoration of his name on the electoral roll and permission to submit his nomination papers, as well as immediate operationalization of the Appellate Tribunals.
The Election Commission has issued several supplementary voter lists following the adjudications.
As of Saturday, 57 lakh out of the 60 lakh cases had been processed, according to the West Bengal chief electoral officer's office. However, the poll panel did not specify how many of these cases resulted in deletions.
When judicial officers reviewed approximately 49 lakh cases, the poll panel reported that nearly 22 lakh, or 45%, resulted in deletions.